"Hey, underachiever!" Flynn Taylor's bright face appears beside Julie. She ignores me, as usual.
"Hey, disappointment," Julie replies in her monotone voice. I roll my eyes at their exchange and start to walk away.
"Okay, I know you don't want me to ask, but have you figured out what you're gonna do today?" I freeze as Flynn's voice floats over to me. Julie hasn't said a word to me about her decision about the music program. It's not surprising, but I'm still curious about my twin's choice.
"I'll know in the moment." I inwardly sigh. It's been a year since Julie did anything.
"Really, Jules? That's all you're giving me? Mrs. Harrison said this was your last chance."
"I know. I was there." I shake my head and continue walking, accidentally walking into somebody. I breathe a sigh of relief as I realize it's my best friend, Carrie Wilson.
"Bella!" She squeals. "Do you wanna help me pass out flyers for the rally?"
I smile at her enthusiasm and her nickname. Carrie is the only person who calls me Bella. Everyone else calls me Isa or straight up Isabella. "Of course I do!" I take a stack and start to pass the papers around the hallway. Snippets of Julie and Flynn's conversation reach my ears and I hold my breathe.
"Ugh, what is she handing out?"
"Desperation?"
My fists curl around the papers I'm holding. Oblivious, Carrie walks up to them and happily hands them the homemade flyers. "Here you go. My group's performing at the spirit rally tomorrow. I'm sure you guys have nothing better to do," She jokes.
I glance to the side as Nick walks up to my side. "Trouble in paradise?" He quips.
"Oh my gosh, Carrie, thank you so much!" Flynn mocks. Carrie grits her teeth.
"Oh my gosh, Flynn, don't bother coming!" She mimics in Flynn's rude tone. Carrie confidently walks to me and Nick, but her face is falling. I put an arm around her, and she turns into me.
"What am I doing wrong, Bella?" She whispers, her voice muffled in my shoulder.
"Nothing! You are doing nothing wrong." I soothe. I peek at Nick for confirmation to hand her to him.
"Demon!" I hear Flynn call from her spot at the lockers. I glare at Flynn before smiling at Carrie, trying to calm her nerves. Nick guides her toward her next class, murmuring pacifying words the whole way.
I close my eyes and groan. I don't get why Julie and Flynn hated Carrie all of a sudden. We used to be so close. They hated Carrie after her dad's music career took off. Why couldn't they be happy for her? She worked hard for her band, Dirty Candy. She and I handmade costumes, wrote songs, and choreographed music. Carrie repeatedly begs me to join Dirty Candy, but I don't out of respect for Julie. I may not like her, but she is my sister.
The ringing bell jolts me out of my thoughts. I see Julie and Flynn scurry down the hallway. I sigh and head to my engineering class.
_-*-_
After school, I walk to my locker where Carrie and I usually meet up. I stop in my tracks when I see Julie whispering furiously to her. Carrie's face looks calm, but I can see that she is trying not to cry. I storm up them both.
"What's going on here?" I say skeptically. Julie turns to me with a bright- fake- smile.
"I was just talking to Carrie about her performance tomorrow!"
One glance at Carrie tells me this isn't true. "Really? That's it?"
"Are you ready to go, Isabella?" The sudden subject change confirms what I fear.
"I'm sleeping at Carrie's. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Nuh-uh. Dad said tonight is a family dinner night." Julie say stubbornly. "Besides, it's not fair to Carrie if you hang out with her just because she's rich. We all know that's the real reason you're hanging out with her. She has the personality of a snake." She spits.
"Julie, shut up! I was friends with Carrie before she was rich, and that doesn't even matter to me."
Julie turns and stalks off. "You better come home for dinner, otherwise I'm telling Dad about Nathan." She sings.
I groan. I slept with Nathan one time a few months ago and she still hasn't let me forget. I turn to Carrie. "I'm sorry. I really am. She's a bitch. I would sleep over if I-"
"It's okay." She says solemnly, tears in her eyes. "She's right anyways."
"No she's not! I don't love you because you're rich. I love you because you are my best friend and you are incredible."
Carrie swallows. "I love you too, Bells. You're my best friend."
I smile and walk off, following Julie. I find her waiting for me by her locker. I roll my eyes and walk faster.
"You can't seriously be mad at me, Isa. She's a brat!" She calls after me.
"That "brat" is my best friend and the girl you ditched. Leave me alone, Julie."
She stays behind me for most of the walk home until she decides that she can't just not speak to me.
"Why are you even friends with her? She's not nice to me or Flynn." She says, running to catch up to me.
"You're not nice to her either! Have you seen the way you treat her?" My voice is rising, and angry tears peek through my eyelashes. I swipe at them and walk faster. "She misses you, Jules. I miss you. Why can't you go back to that sweet Julie you used to be?"
"Because I grew up, Isabella! I grew up and you didn't." She snaps. I turn around in shock. "You and Carrie are still the immature children and you still can't handle that Mom loved me and not you. We both know I was her favorite. Why can't you get over yourself?"
I gape at her before storming up our driveway, her words still echoing in my ears. I stop abruptly when I see Dad on our porch with a disapproving look. "Isa, Julie, both of you inside. Now."
_-*-_
"I got a phone call today." He says as soon as we have sat down on the couch, glaring at each other.
My head whips to Julie as she slumps in her seat. She must not have done anything today. "Yeah, I figured as much." She says deafetedly.
"Who was it?" I ask cautiously.
"It was my Realtor friend." He says. I arch an eyebrow, suspicious of where this is going. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Julie breathe in relief. "Yeah, and she says if we are serious about selling the house, then she wants me to take some pictures for the website."
"Which means...?" I ask, still skeptical.
"We have to do a lot of cleaning and get rid of some stuff. Since you two can't seem to stop fighting," Julie tenses from the other end of the couch and Dad holds up his hand. "I figure you two need some bonding. You're going to clean out Mom's studio."
Julie and I both open our mouths to protest, but he cuts us off. "This is not up for negotiation. I expect it to be done by the two of you with zero help from Carlos." My shoulders sag at this. Julie and I stand up to leave.
"Oh, and don't forget the loft. You know, those old instruments that were there when we moved in? They need a new home. I'm off to your brother's game. Please hold it together."
He motions for us to leave. I quickly cross over to the door and throw it open. I look over my shoulder for Julie, but she has disappeared. "Figures." I grumble. I stomp down the walkway to the studio, but gently open the door. This building has so many memories. I may not have been Mom's favorite twin, but she still loved me. She taught me how to play the guitar and piano in here. We sat on that couch for hours to write my first song.
"I'm so sorry, that I haven't been here, Mom."
"Are you okay?" A soft voice says behind me. I wipe at tears that I didn't know were there.
"I'm fine. I'm just... missing Mom."
"I didn't mean what I said earlier, you know. Mom loved you so much. I'm sorry for being so mean to Carrie. I miss her." I turn to my twin.
"You need to tell her that." I'm still hurt by what she said earlier. The wind whistles outside the door. I shiver and walk to close it. When I turn back, Julie is examining a CD.
"Do you recognize this band?" She shows me the cover.
"Sunset Curve? I've never heard of them." I take the CD from Julie and pop it into Mom's old player.
♪ Take off ♪
♪ Last stop ♪
♪ Countdown till we blast open the top ♪
-♪ Face first, full charge... ♪
I frown as the track turns to guys screaming. I turn to Julie, who has her hands over her ears. I'm about to ask about the style of songs in the 80s when Julie's face turns to sheer horror. I slowly turn around to see three boys in a pile behind me. I scream and they jump up.
A cute boy with shaggy brown hair turns around, breathless. "How did we get back here?"
Julie screams and runs out of the studio. I'm frozen in shock as the three boys stare right back at me. I gesture helplessly to the door and run after Julie.
"Whoa! Hey! Whoa! Slow down. You look like you've seen a ghost." Dad chuckled, unloading the car.
"I have!" Julie yells.
"Cool" Carlos says, zooming into his house. I can't help but laugh at his ten-year-old energy.
"Not cool!" Julie shrieks, running after him.
Dad looks at me, confused. I shrug, and he nods. "I'll have a talk with her."
I glance up at Julie's room, where she is most likely texting Flynn about everything. I shake my head and slowly walk back to the studio. I creep inside and flip on the lights.
"I know I saw them"
"Are you still here... whatever you are?" I exhale. "I know I saw something. I'm not crazy."
"Well, we're all a little crazy." A voice laughs behind me. I scream and twirl to face them.
"Oh my God! Please stop screaming!" A blonde boy says, covering an ear. I close my mouth but slow back away.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in my mom's studio?" I say, trying to be intimidating. My attempt fails when my voice shakes.
"Your mom's studio?" The boy with the brown hair scoffs. "This is our studio. Trust me, my... the grand piano is new, and... and... and ..." He trails off before laughing and flopping onto the sofa. My couch!" He sighs happily.
"That is definitely not my six-string." He says, pointing to the guitar hanging on the wall. He scans the studio, taking in the stuff around the room. "Can you give me just one second? Just... give me a second. Thank you." He grabs the two other boys and pulls them into a huddle.
I take this time to take in their appearances. The blonde hair boy, the tallest of them, is wearing a pink shirt and jeans. A black baseball cap pulls back his hair, and a gold chain hangs around his neck. The boy with black hair and a leather jacket has a white shirt, black pants, and a flannel tied around his waist.
I let my sight travel to the brown-haired boy. His torso is covered by a large blue and grey jacket and a white muscle shirt. My gaze travels down his body, taking in his toned muscles and the way his clothes fit.
A clap jolts me out of my thoughts. The blonde boy slowly walks toward me like a lion walks over to a gazelle.
"Why are you in our studio?" He yells. I flinch right when Julie sprints into the room with the cross from our hallway. She runs right for the boy in front of me and sticks a cross through his gut. I gasp, but it goes straight through him.
The boy sighs. "We're ghosts, all right? We're just three ghosts, and we're really happy to be home. So, thank you for the flowers. They really brighten up the room."
"We're in a band called Sunset Curve." The shaggy-haired boy says.
"Tell your friends!" The boy with black hair adds.
The brown-haired boy glances at him before continuing. "Last night was supposed to be
a really big night for us. It was gonna change our lives."
"I'm, uh... I'm pretty sure it did." The blond one comments. Julie is frozen beside me. I sigh and take out my phone.
"What is that? What are you doing?" The shaggy-haired boy asks.
"It's my phone. No! Stop talking to them. They aren't real. There's no such thing as cute ghosts!"
The black-haired boy smirks. "Oh, think we're cute?" I roll my eyes and continue typing.
"Whoa. There is a Sunset Curve. You did die. But not last night. Twenty-five years ago?"
"What? No. No, no, no. Th-Th-That's impossible." The black-haired boy stammers. "After we floated out of the ambulance, all we did was go to that weird, dark room where Alex cried."
The blonde boy- Alex- holds up a hand to defend himself. "Well, I don't think... I think we were all pretty upset, okay?"
"But that was just for like an hour." The boy with brown hair adds. "We just showed up here."
"Look. I'm just telling you what my phone says." I sigh and hold it up. "See? You died in 1995. When you were 17. It's now 2020."
"So, this is the future?" The black-haired boy mutters in amazement.
"Wait. So... So, it has been 25 years." Alex thinks for a second. "I have been crying for 25 years?
How is that possible?"
"Well, you're a very emotional person." The boy with raven hair responds.
"I am not!" Alex says, getting choked up.
"Thought you were afraid to come out here, you two." Carlos says from behind the boys. They separate to make room for my little brother. "You talking to your ghost friend? How does he look? Is he hideous?"
"He can see you." Alex says to the raven-haired boy.
"No, he can't." Julie finally says.
"What?"
"Uh... What do you want?"
"Normal sisters, for starters. Stop being weird and come eat." He scoffs and walks out.
"He couldn't see you." I murmur, bemused.
"Yeah. I mean, that's... usually how ghosts work." Alex says.
Julie sighs. "Look, I'm very sorry for what happened to you guys, but this isn't your studio anymore. You have to leave." She grabs my arm and starts to drag me away. The brown-haired boy hesitates.
"But wait. We... we didn't get your name." He says, looking at me.
"It's Julie." She says, glaring at him. I take my arm out of her grip.
"Cool." He chuckles. "I-I'm Luke, by... by the way." He takes a step forward to shake our hands, but stops when Julie raises her cross at him. "And this is--"
"Reggie. I'm Reggie." The boy with black hair says. "Hey."
"Alex. How's it going?" Alex finishes.
"Ba-da." Luke says softly.
"Okay?" Julie stalks off. I stare after her before turning back to the boys.
"I'm so sorry about her." I say. "I would say she's not usually like this, but... she is."
Luke chuckles quietly. "That's okay. Um... I didn't catch your name either."
I smile. "I'm Isabella. Pleased to meet you." I stick my hand out, and Luke grabs it. His fingers are calloused and rough, similar to my fingers. You don't lose callouses after one year.
He has brown eyes. I think to myself. A feeling bubbles up in my chest. His very brown eyes hold me to him, pinned into place.
"Um... is that supposed to happen?" Alex interrupts, staring at our intertwined hands. Luke quickly lets go of my hand and steps back.
"I-I'm not sure." I stutter. I stumble backwards. "I should go. Dinner, and all that. You can stay here if you want to. Or need to."
They all stare at me as I flee the studio. I slow to a walk right in front of my front door and stare at my hand, still warm from Luke's.
Why can I touch him, but Julie can't?